Essay on Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is based during the great depression and a strong friendship between two men Lennie and George, as well as around the theme of the 'American Dream".

In the novel Of Mice and Men, Lennie Small is the most important character because Lennie expresses important morals. Without Lennie there is no importance of a close friendship or relationship between two people, Lennie needs George to look after him but, George needs Lennie for a purpose in life. The only reason George still has hope in the dream is because Lennie keeps it alive, Lennie potrays the theme of the American dream. 

Lennie Small is ironically tall and muscular with an outlook of a child. Lennie's "strong as a bull" appearance is also a misleading on his personality. Lennie is the source of the novel's conflict, the conflict between Lennie and Curley is when the first meets, it portrays the need for superiority between people. Lennie is judged by Curley as a threat without Curely getting to know him. Lennie is important because he expresses important morals in the story 'don't judge a book by it's cover' and even though he may have a mean, tough, rough look he's truthfully just a confused man with a learning disability. 

The other men have no one they share a bond with, but not George because he has Lennie. Without Lennie, George would just be like another one of the workers on the ranch who aimlessly wanders from jobs, and never cares for anyone else, the fact that they have each other is what makes the difference. As George says "... We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us." The other men don't understand their friendship, and their bond is so rare that the boss suspects something of it."Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy" this shows us that on the ranch the other men are just seen trying to get things from one another. 

Men need dreams, without dreams they wander through life without direction. George and Lennie share a dream of owning a small farm together, the farm they dream of owning represents the possibility of freedom. Lennie’s powerful longing of the dream gives George real hope. Lennie helps George keep the dream alive; his innocence allows him to believe in the dream when George would have let the dream go. 

Lennie gives meaning to the novel, he is also the source of the novel's conflict, and is involved in the most important events in the novel. He also shows how men in the 1930's wished for the American Dream, but most importantly Lennie gives George a purpose in life and a connection with another person. 

Order a custom written paper and improve your grade!